Obama administration can’t face reality

Published: Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 08:00 AM.

By CALVIN B. KOESY

PANAMA CITY BEACH In the areas of fiscal responsibility and foreign policy the Obama administration has failed to face hard realities and has placed the nation in great peril.

Reality No. 1: Excessive federal spending in fiscal 2012 amounted to $1.1 trillion. To finance this we borrowed 46 cents of every dollar, mostly from the Chinese. In his election victory celebration the president said he was looking forward to working with Republicans to solve the nation’s fiscal problems. This lasted about 24 hours, as his next statement was, “I will veto any legislation that did not include raising taxes on the wealthy.”

Later he proposed a 10-year budget framework of $1.6 trillion in new taxes, $80 billion in stimulus for infrastructure and $400 billion in unspecified spending cuts. In other words, $1 in spending cuts for every $4 of new revenue.

This is absurd, and means that he has no concept of reality, Perhaps he was just throwing this out there to give himself some room for negotiation. If so, it was a tactical blunder.

About six weeks have passed and the president and Speaker Boehner are still negotiating a budget framework. It appears that the speaker has agreed to some increase in tax revenue on the wealthy and the president’s most recent proposal is a $400,000 threshold. Speaker Boehner has countered with a threshold of $1 million; however, the House would not support it.

With the fiscal cliff approaching the president has proposed: 1. extending the Bush tax cuts for all making less than $250,000; 2. extending unemployment compensation; 3. delaying sequester action of $110 billion. The president’s fiscal plan is now clear: On spending cuts, “kick the can down the road;” follow the path of Greece; hope to avoid market discipline; blame the Republicans for the fiscal mess; hope to gain majority in the House in the midterms.

PANAMA CITY BEACH
In the areas of fiscal responsibility and foreign policy the Obama administration has failed to face hard realities and has placed the nation in great peril.

Reality No. 1: Excessive federal spending in fiscal 2012 amounted to $1.1 trillion. To finance this we borrowed 46 cents of every dollar, mostly from the Chinese. In his election victory celebration the president said he was looking forward to working with Republicans to solve the nation’s fiscal problems. This lasted about 24 hours, as his next statement was, “I will veto any legislation that did not include raising taxes on the wealthy.”

Later he proposed a 10-year budget framework of $1.6 trillion in new taxes, $80 billion in stimulus for infrastructure and $400 billion in unspecified spending cuts. In other words, $1 in spending cuts for every $4 of new revenue.

This is absurd, and means that he has no concept of reality, Perhaps he was just throwing this out there to give himself some room for negotiation. If so, it was a tactical blunder.

About six weeks have passed and the president and Speaker Boehner are still negotiating a budget framework. It appears that the speaker has agreed to some increase in tax revenue on the wealthy and the president’s most recent proposal is a $400,000 threshold. Speaker Boehner has countered with a threshold of $1 million; however, the House would not support it.

With the fiscal cliff approaching the president has proposed: 1. extending the Bush tax cuts for all making less than $250,000; 2. extending unemployment compensation; 3. delaying sequester action of $110 billion. The president’s fiscal plan is now clear: On spending cuts, “kick the can down the road;” follow the path of Greece; hope to avoid market discipline; blame the Republicans for the fiscal mess; hope to gain majority in the House in the midterms.

There is an interesting story in the Bible about King Menehen, King of Israel in the seventh century B.C., who placed a tax on the wealthy. Every wealthy man had to contribute 50 shekels of silver (about $2,500) so that King Menehen could buy off the threatening King of Assyria (2 Kings 15:20). The prophet Hosea condemned this practice as worthless, i.e. “not able to cure.” (Hosea 5:13). In 722 B.C. the Assyrian army conquered Israel and carried its people into captivity. Taxing the wealthy didn’t work for King Menehen and it won’t do the job for President Obama.

The reality is that entitlement spending is the most significant driver of the national debt. AARP has a new television advertisement advising seniors to complain to their congressmen: “Don’t mess with our entitlements. We paid into the program and we deserve no cuts.” The fact is most seniors have received from the federal taxpayer medical benefit payments many times the amount they have paid into the system. AARP leadership ought to be ashamed of the deceit they have done to seniors they portend to represent.

Most seniors I know, who are able, would be willing to pay for some of their personal medical costs, which suggests that “means testing” would be a reasonable part of health care reform. This requires that “people with means” would pay a larger portion of their health care costs.

Reality No. 2 is in foreign policy. The U.S. is withdrawing its military forces from the Mideast while al-Qaida and the Taliban are increasing their domination of the region. The administration failed to negotiate a “Status of Forces Agreement” with the new Iraqi government. In practical terms this means we have left the Iraqis to “sink or swim” in the matter of security. This is a radically different way than we treated the South Koreans, who have become the “poster country” for all of Asia with a bustling economy and a strong military.

The administration also set a withdrawal date of 2013 for Afghanistan with little regard for its military’s ability to handle security. Jesus had a word to say about those who fail to press forward: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 9:62).

I was serving with naval forces in Vietnam in 1969. We were winning the war on the rivers, canals and coastal areas. When we were challenged from the shore we responded with overwhelming firepower. Also, we were training the South Vietnamese Navy in security operations when President Nixon, yielding to cries of the far left, ordered all U.S. forces to withdraw. We turned over all our naval assets to the South Vietnamese. Within a year the Communists took over the country. President Nixon squandered all the sacrifices of the brave men and women who fought and died there.

President Obama and his advisers have learned nothing from the Vietnam War because they simply won’t face reality.